help me pic a cal

[briannelson89]

im building a long rang hunting rifle and im not sure of the caliber that I should go with I do know I want it to be a 7mm,30,or 338 caliber but not sure which one to go with. the gun will be sender weight or a little bit heavier and 28-29 in barrel. I don't think I well ever hunt any thing bigger than a elk, it will be used for white tales more than any thing.

 

[WildRose]

im building a long rang hunting rifle and im not sure of the caliber that I should go with I do know I want it to be a 7mm,30,or 338 caliber but not sure which one to go with. the gun will be sender weight or a little bit heavier and 28-29 in barrel. I don't think I well ever hunt any thing bigger than a elk, it will be used for white tales more than any thing.

7mm STW or 300wm will get you to 800yds with ease on anything up through Elk size game. IF you can put the shots where they need to be you can take that on out to 1,000.

300 Rum will take that on out to 1200 or so.

The 338wm again out to 800yds will definitely handle Elk with ease.

The bigger 338's give you a massively higher amount of energy which will carry you far beyond the others in range, and your shot placement is not as critical because at any range it delivers far more energy to the target.

Ouf of all of the above the 7mm STW is the real gem to shoot followed by the 300wm. In a 10lbs rig with a decent muzzle brake you can spit the 180-190 class bullets out at max velocity with extremely tolerable recoil. Even in my 8lbs rig the recoil is no problem at all.

The 300wm is about the same, but you can push heavier bullets at nearly similar velocities.

The 300 Rum in a Sendero weight rig or heavier will launch the 180's at warp nine and with a decent brake is a real joy to shoot. Even the 210's are no problem at all.

The big 338's bring with them a much greater recoil force and so in smilar rigs as for weight and muzzle breaks you are going to have much more recoil force to put up with. The good news is, it's more like a really hard shove than getting hit with a fast moving hammer and if you drive it right again, they are tolerable but you have to get a heavy rig to make them a pleasure to shoot.

That being said I have 3 STW's, 2 300wm's and one 300 Rum just to always ensure I have the right rig for any job... .

 

[briannelson89]

Thanks for the info I think I may be leaning to a 7mm rum or 7mm allen mag.

 

[Broz]

im building a long rang hunting rifle and im not sure of the caliber that I should go with I do know I want it to be a 7mm,30,or 338 caliber but not sure which one to go with. the gun will be sender weight or a little bit heavier and 28-29 in barrel. I don't think I well ever hunt any thing bigger than a elk, it will be used for white tales more than any thing.

Do you plan to practice or target shoot much ? How many rounds a year would plan to shoot? These things can be an important part of the equation.

Jeff

 

[briannelson89]

Yes I will go to a local 1000 yard match and shoot it some .probly around 100 rounds a year

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Thanks for the info I think I may be leaning to a 7mm rum or 7mm allen mag.

You better order 2 or 3 barrels as these are fire dragons. If you are just getting into LR, by the time you get your load worked up and up to speed at say 1k or more, you'll probably be ready to swap barrels. Basicalluy for this type of cartridge, once you get your load worked up and drops verified. You want to leave it on the gun rack until your ready to use it and shoot maybe 30 or 40 round a year out of it. If I wanted one of these cartridges, I would choose them as a second or third rifle. It's good to have a rifle you can shoot a little more.

the 7 RM, 300 WM and 300 RUM are good choices with the 7 and the RUM also a little hard on barrels. The WM is a little better.

You might also consider a 300 WSM which by most reports has good barrel life. I have both a 300 RUM and 300 WSM and I can get 3400 fps with a 180 bullet out of the RUM with about 100 gr of powder and typically has about 1000 rounds of barrel life. I can get 3200 fps with the same 180 bullet out of the WSM with about 66 gr of powder. I haven't burned my barrel yet, but have read good reports on 300 WSM barrel life with up to 3000 rounds of good accuracy. Those might be moderate loads. My is an upper end load.

My recommendation to anyone just starting out and looking for 1K hunting, give or take, would be a 300 WSM. The best of all worlds, especially at entry level.

Mark

 

[4bycamper]

im building a long rang hunting rifle and im not sure of the caliber that I should go with I do know I want it to be a 7mm,30,or 338 caliber.

I think you need one of each.

So the real question is which one to build first.
I recommend a 7mm. Great bullet selection. Super BC's.

 

[briannelson89]

i have a 300 wsm ,and 7mm rm . thanks for the advice i just looking for a new long range rifle. and i realy like the 7mm's im just looking for something with a little more gas

 

[WildRose]

i have a 300 wsm ,and 7mm rm . thanks for the advice i just looking for a new long range rifle. and i realy like the 7mm's im just looking for something with a little more gas

Then the 7mm STW is really the next logical step for you unless you want to go to the 300wm or 300 Rum. The 7mm RUM sounds cool but you get very little gain for the added powder, recoil, and blast not to mention much shorter barrel life.

Of all of them the 300wm is the most economical because of barrel life, but the 7mm STW is really a fantastic round.